Dancing Through the Shadows
by Twin Kats
Summary: You are different, human.' // Those simple words on that not-so-simple night sealed the fate of Minato Namikaze to a much darker path: to exist, but forever remain unseen, and unable to interact. // AU // Minato-centric //


_**Summary: **__'You are different, human.' // Those simple words on that not-so-simple night sealed the fate of Minato Namikaze to a much darker path: to exist, but forever remain unseen, and unable to interact. // AU // Minato-centric_

_**Dancing Through the Shadows  
Divergence**_

_**You are different, human.**_

___Those words changed everything for me. My plans and my hopes._

_I had gone to that battle with the knowledge I would die; there was no getting around it, and I was ready. Defiant until the end as Jiraiya-sensei would say. Either way what happened wasn't what I had planned--not exactly. I mean death was expected._

_To be left unseen and unable to interact--stuck in a village that disregarded my hopes--that was something I never expected._

_It was my own personal hell._

_

* * *

_

"Minato think about this for a minute!" Jiraiya yelled. "Kushina's in the hospital having just given birth, she's weak and the Kyuubi is attacking! If you do this you'll leave her **and** Naruto alone!"

"Sensei," Minato turned his head and lifted hard blue eyes from looking down at his son, "this is **my** village. I am **Hokage**. Kushina understands what I'm doing. You should **understand** what I'm doing."

Jiraiya slammed his palm against the table. "Damn it Minato no one would blame you if you had Sarutobi-sensei perform the sealing!"

"A Hokage's job is to protect his village!" Minato raored. "**I AM HOKAGE!**"

"But Mina--"

"My son is Namikaze-Uzumaki **Naruto**, the **heir** to the Namikaze name. He holds the **will of fire** in his spirit, the blood of the **whilrpool **in his veins. He is the son of myself and my wife **Kushina**, a kunoichi of the leaf and a damn good one at that. He is the son of a **Hokage**. Do you **doubt** my choice that he will be able to hold th beast?!"

"No Minato but we both **know** how much better it would be if you were--"

"**ENOUGH!**"

Jiraiya backed down quickly upon seeing the enraged look the blond Hokage held towards him.

"I will perform the sealing; it is **my** duty as Hokage, Jiraiya-sensei," Minato spoke, voice cold, before his eyes softened with his tone. "I will miss you and everyone from this village, sensei, but it is my duty and no one else's. The village may not blame me, but I will, and I cannot live with that. **Please** understand."

Jiraiya turned away, unable to look the man he considered a son in the eye any longer.

"I understand, Minato, but I don't have to like it."

"That's all I ask," Minato murmured, rocking Naruto slowly before glancing out the window as a loud crash sounded. "It's showtime."

"Good luck, brat," Jiraiya said weakly and Minato shot him a grin.

"Thanks...otou-san," the blond whispered and disappeared out the window.

* * *

**You are different, human.**

Minato brushed the Shinigami's words aside and quickly finished the sealing, grunting as the hand moved through his chest, through Naruto's chest, and into the Kyuubi. The great beast screamed as the Shinigami pulled and with a brilliant flash the spectral being's arm retracted, drawing the fox's soul into his own son's body before letting go. The spiral shaped seal wound its away around the child's stomach as the diety's hand pulled away, clawed fingers wrapping icily around Minato's own soul.

**Yes, so very different.**

The icy feeling spread as Minato continued to ignore the words the Shinigami spoke, instead whispering a weak goodbye to his son.

"I love you, Naruto," he breathed, blood staining his lips.

**So very interesting.**

Detatchment began to pull at Minato--his limbs were falling numb as the Shinigami drew his soul out. The blond Hokage collapsed on top of Gamabunta, holding his son tightly to his chest, blue eyes slowly falling close.

**Which is why I won't take your soul.**

Blue eye's snapped open in shock, unable to ignore the Shinigami's words any longer. Having the Hokage's attention the Shinigami grinned viciously.  
**  
You are different, human** the Shinigami repeated and pulled strongly at the blond's soul.

Minato screamed.

* * *

_'Ugh...what?' _groggily blue eyes opened as hands moved to push his body off the ground. _'Where am I? What happened?' _Slowly the blond man pulled himself to his hands and knees, and then to his feet. He stumbled for a second, one hand coming to rest upon his head to stop the dizzy feeling the ensconced him before it slowly fell away and blue eyes took in his surroundings.

Blood--blood was everywhere. Followed quickly by bodies and moans of pain or dying. He knew immediately _what_ he was standing upon.

_It was a battlefield._

The only issue was...where was he and what had happened?

Of course it was then his blue eyes landed on a familiar face--one he saw in the mirror every day only now it was deathly pale and covered in blood; obviously dead.

Himself.

* * *

end chapter.

_**ONWARDS TO THE AUTHORS NOTE!**_

___Hi everyone. You must be wondering just __**how**__ this little thing came about. Well, I will tell you._

_I was on __**youtube**__ watching some __**Minato Namikaze**__ slideshow videos when I fell across a certain __**picture**__ that reminded me __**so much **__of this story idea I've read here on FFN--I think it's called __**Ghost Guardian**__. Either way, it's a story where the Shinigami gives Minato a "gift" and plops down a dead, invisible, and ghost Minato in Konoha ten years later with only Naruto able to see him._

_I liked the idea a lot. In fact it's one of my favorite stories, but I never wrote anything like it __**because**__ someone had done the idea, and made it very unique and well written. I couldn't make my own version after reading that._

_However...this popped up as I was watching the video and fell across this picture of a ghostly Minato holding onto a crying, child Naruto. I fell in love and was immediately inspired, so I created this. Partially inspired by the __**Ghost Guardian**__ idea and the picture, I decided to try my hand at a ghostly Minato only...with a different twist._

_Thus this was born._

_Let me know what you think!_

_And yes, I know it is short; I'm not going for length with this--at least not right now. So some chapters may be short and some may be long. It depends on what the chapter will include as this __**is**__ a mostly unplanned story._

_Thank you for reading, and please review!_

_TK  
Twin Kats_


End file.
